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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: jam · cold · cell · land · snap · trunk · track · patient

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. cold — not warm
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. track — a song
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. track — a path
  12. cold — an illness
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cell — in biology
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to click
  18. land — a country
  19. track — to keep track
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. land — ground
  22. land — to come down
  23. cell — a phone
  24. snap — to speak sharply

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com